The Divine Dish

Redondo Beach Press Tour, part 1

Posted on May 25, 2009 under Archives | No Comment

Last weekend I joined a group of writers for a press tour of Redondo Beach organized by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau and Susan Bejeckian of SBPR Public Relations.  I stayed at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club.

All of us met at the exhibition kitchen at Splash in the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  Splash has an open kitchen where you can watch the cooks prepare your meal and a chef’s table inside the kitchen.

I had an omelette, prepared by the chefs above.

During breakfast we learned about the history of Redondo Beach and then took a tour of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  I especially liked the view from the large pool deck, below.

We toured the marina and seaside lagoon and then headed to Captain Kidd’s Fish Market.

Inside was a wide variety of fresh fish which guests can pick out and have cooked to order.

Next we headed to the Disco Bus, where our host Tom Kearney showed us the Whaling Wall, Sealab, the historic Moreell House, the Galleria and Riviera Village before dropping us off at the pier.

Once we exited the bus, we headed to the pier.

We were all pretty hungry, so we stopped off at Maison Riz for lunch.

The chef prepared a wonderful tasting menu, first course was roast duck breast with green pepper sauce, Chilean sea bass, and a salmon and foie gras croquette.

Next came an assortment of sush – scallops with black truffle miso and wagyu beef tataki.

Our third course was dessert, which we all loved.  A yummy fruit/orange, panna cotta and apple wonton crisp.

All of the food was delicious and the restaurant has a great view.  Well worth the drive to Redondo for a romantic dinner.

Right next to Maison Riz is Mie Pearl, a jewelry shop where you can pick an oyster and keep the pearl, which we all got to do.  Above, I am picking my oyster, below, there is the pearl!

After the tour I headed back to my big comfy bed at the Portofino for a nice nap before dinner.

Uncork’d Gala Dinner, Bellagio

Posted on May 12, 2009 under Archives | No Comment

On May 9th, the Uncork’d Gala Dinner was held in the Monet Ballroom.  On the way there I passed through the conservatory and had to take a few pics of the beautiful tulips, here they are:

Everyone entered the ballroom and went onto the patio to view displays from the participating restaurants and for a chance to sample appetizers and drinks and chat with the chefs.

Above is the Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant and Bar display.

Chef Akira Back and his staff mingled with guests.

Picasso and Todd English’s Olives also had nice displays.

Amidst the camera crews I snuck in for a pic with chefs Todd English and Isaac Carter.

The Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Prime Steakhouse display made everyone hungry.

Prime chef Robert Moore was on hand with several guys who provided the Wagyu beef to answer questions and mingle with the crowd.

I got to sample the artichoke and goat cheese drumsticks, which were really tasty, but missed the rest of the appetizers.

Once inside, our hostess, Bon Appetit Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild greeted all the guests.

Our first course was Japanese snapper carpaccio with micro shiso and tosazu, from chef Akira Back of Yellowtail,  paired with a 2006 Loimer Risling from Austria.  Our table loved the freshness of the snapper.

Next came roasted scallops with green asparagus, Hollandaise mousseline and confit of leeks from Chef Julian Serrano of Picasso.  Paired with a glass of Torres Nerola Cataluyna, 2005.

Next came Michael Mina and Anthony Amoroso’s crispy pork belly, vegetables a la Grecque with wild arugula and California ranch olive oil (Michael Mina restaurant).  Paired with a Domaine Ott Rose Clos Mireille Cotes du Provence 2007.

Our last course was from chef Robert Moore of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Prime Steakhouse – a dry aged A5 Wagyu rib-eye with grilled shiitake mushrooms and sesame mustard.

All of the dishes were spectacular but the star of the night was the huge dessert display by Jean-Philippe Maury of Jean-Philippe Patisserie.  We all went back outside to sample the many many desserts.  Here are some pics:

Here is what I selected to taste:

I liked the Chocolate Decadence the best, but all were brilliant.  Here is what my foodie friend Mary Ellen tried:

The event was a wonderful end to a weekend full of fabulous food.   Here is a pic of Mary Ellen and the girls, enjoying the treats before heading back home.

All Star Interactive Luncheon at Encore

Posted on May 11, 2009 under Archives | No Comment

On Saturday afternoon, I attended the All-Star Interactive Luncheon at Encore.  Each table was assigned a chef to help them prepare our lunch.  Our chef was Joseph Leibowitz from Alex restaurant.

Many other chefs participated, helping out each table.  Daniel Boulud also was in attendance.

Bon Appetit editor Barbara Fairchild welcomed the crowd.

As the meal began, we were served bread and wine.

Ingredients for our table:

Our first course was chilled lobster with spring vegetables crudites and lemon vinaigrette.

Ingredients for second course, sauteed sea scallops with porcini mushrooms.

I volunteered to cook the third course, spring gnocchi with peas and prosciutto, with chef Joseph.

The finished dish.

Our last course was a marinated squab breast with caramelized Japanese eggplant and couscous with fresh mint and pistachios.

All attendees were given an apron signed by the chefs before dessert, which was a yummy chocolate and caramel goodie as well as a strawberry tart.

All the courses were delicious and our entire table had a great time.

Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting at Caesars Palace Pool Deck

Posted on May 11, 2009 under Archives | No Comment

On Friday, May 8, I began a wonderful weekend of events at Bon Appetit’s Vegas Uncork’d event.  My friend and fellow foodie Chris came from one desert (palm springs) to another (Las Vegas) to join me.  Our first event was the grand tasting held at the pool deck at Caesars Palace.   Signature dishes from a large variety of Vegas’ top chefs were available as well as some great wines.  We tried to taste everything, but it was pretty crowded so here is a sampling of what we were able to see and taste:

David Burke Modern American Cuisine had some tasty Thai Chicken Dumplings, here is a pic:

We ran into Dos Caminos chefs Scott Lilnquist and Roberto Hernandez.

Dos Caminos is one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas, great food for a reasonable price, here is what they offered for the tasting, it was one of our faves of the night.

The Dos Caminos short rib was spicey and tender and had a nice slaw to go with it.

After sampling the BLT Burger, well worth a visit if you want a tasty burger and are near the Mirage, we had some nice pork from Isla.

We headed around the curve to the Country Club New American Steakhouse, located in Wynn.

The Kobe beef tartar with black truffle vinaigrette was another fave.

After the yummy steak tartare, we squeezed into Society Cafe.

The sugar cane shrimp skewers were tasty.

Who did we run into?  Robin Leach talking up Chef Kim.  So, we asked for a pic and got a very grumpy, “if you must.”

We got a whiff of next door’s meatballs, so we headed over to the  Lavo booth.  Lavo is a nice place to dine if you want to share some small plates for dinner when you are near Palazzo.

Next over to BOA (located in the Forum Shops at Caesars).

Guy Savoy (located at Caesars) had some nice artichoke and black truffle soup.  Anything with truffles makes us happy.

Also at Caesars is Bradley Ogden, here are pics:

Next door was Payard Patisserie and Bistro, also at Caesars.

Master pastry chef Francois Payard was on hand to talk about the dish of the night, the butterscotch pudding.  This was so good that we had two – winner, best dish of the night.

The Caesars area also featured Neros Steakhouse.

Chef Matt Seeber and his crew manned the Craftsteak booth.  Craftsteak is at MGM Grand.

We headed to Fiamma, also located at MGM, for some pasta.

We got through most of the booths, but by this time we were pretty full.  We headed out and saw some great food on the way:

I ran into one of my fave chefs, Hubert Keller, and Jean Joho from the Eiffel Tower at Paris.

We saw Border Grill chef Mary Sue Milliken on the way out.

Valentino had a great spread – located at Venetian.

Their antipasto misto was one of the best displays at the event.

The last booth before heading out was Eiffel Tower (located at Paris).

There were many booksignings, but the crowd was huge so we left.  It was a great grand tasting.